Apparel and home furnishings retailer Bon-Ton Stores Inc. said it would cut about 1,150 jobs and eliminate 2008 bonuses for its senior executives in a bid to control costs amid a worsening economy. Bon-Ton, which operates the Bon-Ton, Elder-Beerman, Boston Store and Carson Pirie Scott chains, said it would take a one-time charge of $3.0 million related to the cuts. The reduction amounts to a 3.5% cut to the company’s workforce according to Reuters data. Reuters

Associated Press

A 1983 photograph of a Bulgari shop in Rome.

Mexican billionaire Carlos Slim Helu raised his stake Saks Inc. yet again, for the first time since November 2008. On Jan. 23 Slim purchased 300,000 Saks shares for $700,695, an average of $2.43 each. He now owns 2.55 million shares, a 17.7% stake in the New York-based company. Mr. Slim, who turned 69 on Wednesday, began racking up his stake in Saks over the summer. He reached the 10% ownership mark in July, paying over $9 per share. Slim has a long history with Saks, and in the early part of the decade had built up a stake over 15%, before selling much of the stock. Barron’s

The industry that brought you bling is losing its luster. Jeweler Bulgari SpA said sales fell to €312.6 million ($410.7 million) in the fourth quarter, a 10% decline from a year earlier. At Swiss watchmaker Swatch Group AG sales fell 6% in the second half. Neither company announced profit for those periods. The timing of the sales downturn is a particular blow to the jewelry and watch industry, which traditionally counts on the months leading up to the holidays for customers to make expensive purchases. Cie. Financière Richemont SA and Tiffany & Co. earlier this month also reported sales declines for the end of the year. WSJ

Defying the brutal retail slump, Amazon.com Inc. said profit rose 9% and sales surged 18% in the fourth quarter as the Internet giant used its pricing muscle to lure shoppers. Chief Executive Jeff Bezos‘s goal of establishing Amazon as the Internet’s biggest store, with aggressive discounting, free shipping offers and a relentless expansion into new product categories, is paying dividends just as most retailers are struggling and scaling back. The Seattle-based company reported earnings of $225 million, or 52 cents a share, for the quarter ended Dec. 31, compared with a profit of $207 million, or 48 cents a share, a year earlier. Revenue reached $6.7 billion. WSJ

India’s minister of commerce and industry, Kamal Nath, said Thursday at the World Economic Forum in Davos that the world’s second-largest emerging economy was projected to grow by 7% to 7.5% this year, but the country’s textile, apparel and jewelry industries were hurting. Mr. Nath’s economic projection was far more bullish compared with the International Monetary Fund, which on Wednesday lowered its forecast for India by 1.2% from its November prediction. The IMF now expects the Indian economy to expand by 5.1% in 2009 and 6.5% in 2010. WWD

The New York woman who criticized Michelle Obama for not wearing the work of a black designer on Inauguration Day is drawing some fire of her own from several black fashion industry veterans.Amnau Eele, co-founder of a little-known group called the Black Artists Association, claimed she received death threats after Women’s Wear Daily published comments she made in an e-mail last week. “If you are going to have Isabel Toledo do the inauguration dress, and Jason Wu do the evening gown, why not have Kevan Hall, B Michael, Stephen Burrows or any of the other black designers do something too?” she wrote. Newsday

Chico’s FAS Inc. said it cut about 180 jobs, or about 11% of headquarters staff, and plans to close as many as 25 stores and book after-tax charges of $24.3 million to $29.3 million related to underperforming stores, impairment of goodwill and the job cuts. The women’s apparel retailer expects the cuts at its headquarters in Fort Myers, Fla., to reduce expenses by about $15 million over the next year. WSJ

Seeing a weak forecast for 2009 sales, Columbia Sportswear Co. on Thursday said it will table plans to open branded retail stores in several U.S. cities and reduce its marketing and advertising budget. The announcement came as the Beaverton, Ore.-based outdoor sportswear company reported fourth-quarter sales of $354.9 million, a 6% drop from a year earlier, as the weak economy continues to squeeze the global retail environment. Portland Business Journal

Sales of maternity wedding dresses in the U.K. are on the rise. Last year, an estimated 20,000 brides in Britain were pregnant on their wedding day, accounting for 10% of all first-time brides under the age of 45. Most of the brides are aged between 25 and 29, say the figures from the Office for National Statistics, and are around three to five months pregnant on their wedding day. The Daily Mail